


Prompto and the Perfect Painting

by dustkeeper



Series: Fairies and Sparrowmen [2]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Disney fairies au, Fairies, Fanart, Gen, Illustrated
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-31
Updated: 2018-07-31
Packaged: 2019-06-19 12:53:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15510318
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dustkeeper/pseuds/dustkeeper
Summary: Everyone in Pixie Hollow loved his art, saying he was one of the best in his talent, but… When his friends flew off to the Mainland to change seasons,  literal forces of nature that melt snow and make flowers bloom in seconds, he always wondered if his talent was really all that necessary. Wouldn't it be better if he could be a Water Talent, ending a drought with a miraculous rainstorm? Or maybe an Animal Talent, who taught baby birds to fly and woke all sorts of animals up from their hibernation?A trip outside Neverland helps Prompto learn that every talent has a purpose, even if it isn't obvious.





	Prompto and the Perfect Painting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This has been a fun little pet project of mine for the past few months! I wanted to do something akin to a storybook with illustrations to match the pictures. Originally, I was going to post it all as one chapter, but it's not quite finished yet.
> 
> This is set in my Disney Fairies AU, in which all the characters are fairies in Pixie Hollow. I tried to explain the lore as best I could where applicable, but let me know if something seems confusing! Hope you enjoy!
> 
> [Tumblr link ](http://mr-smith-i-need-you.tumblr.com/post/176485237722/ao3-link-chapter-1-2-rating-g-summary)

 

 

 

 

 

               Prompto loved being an Art Talent. He loved mixing berries and other juicy fruits to create paints in all sorts of vibrant and unusual colors. He loved painting butterfly and ladybug wings before sending them off to the Mainland with the fairies that would change winter to spring. He loved that King Regis only asked _him_ to fix the chandelier in his quarters  ̶  it was too ornate and delicate for Tinker Talents like Cindy to fix without breaking the tiny crystal shards.

               He spent all day working with the other Art Talents in their big workshop in Summer Glade, then nearly all night in his teapot house working on personal projects. Painting, decorating, and even sometimes sculpting, there was no subdivision of being an Art Talent that Prompto couldn't do. His favorite was painting the portraits that lined halls in the Pixie Dust Tree or other fairies' homes. He would paint pictures of fairies performing everyday duties and gift them to whoever was in them.

               So, all in all, being an Art Talent was pretty fun to Prompto. He couldn't imagine being as excited by any other talent as he was about art.

               Sometimes, though? He wished he could be.

               Everyone in Pixie Hollow loved his art, saying he was one of the best in his talent, but… When his friends flew off to the Mainland to change seasons,  literal forces of nature that melt snow and make flowers bloom in seconds, he always wondered if _his_ talent was really all that necessary. Wouldn't it be better if he could be a Water Talent, ending a drought with a miraculous rainstorm? Or maybe an Animal Talent, who taught baby birds to fly and woke all sorts of animals up from their hibernation?

               Sometimes, when he fixed King Regis' chandelier, he wished he were a Tinker Talent. They fixed all sorts of things around the Hollow when they broke, and they were always making new inventions that made life easier for every other talent on the island. He wanted to be _useful_ like that.

               "Aw, don't talk like that, darlin'!" Cindy told him once when they were having lunch at her workstation. Although she had a large, delicious salad to eat, she couldn't keep her gloved hands off her latest project: a boat to make deliveries across Pixie Hollow's rivers more efficient. "There ain't no talent that's more important than another! Even King Ree says so. Why, your paintings are the talk of the Tree!"

               "I guess," Prompto sighed. Cindy couldn't understand: _her_ job was helping people in ways Prompto never could.

               "Don't make that face!" she chastised him, waving her wrench at his pout. "Who d'ya think is gonna paint this boat for me when I fix her up? Only _you_ can make her dazzle like the beauty she is!"

               Prompto's cheeks and wings flushed a light pink. He admired Cindy's confidence in her own self, and any compliment from her always made him fly a little higher. Still, he couldn't shake the doubts that had followed him ever since his Arrival Day, when he saw fairies grow flowers in seconds and heal injuries with a touch of their pixie dust-covered hands.

                "Say, if you head on down to the Cove anytime soon, could  ya look for a stretchy-thingy?" Cindy interrupted his thoughts.

                "Uhh… a stretchy-thing?"

                Prompto flew through the Cove sometimes when he was looking for ore for special paint colors berries couldn't mix. He also liked looking for weird objects that washed up from the Mainland   ̶ "lost things," as the tinkers called them   ̶ to bring back for Cindy to use in her projects.

                "Y'know, something I could use for the rudder," Cindy said, as if that were enough clarification for Prompto.

                "I'll see what I can do," he said.

 

 

 

 

 

               Aside from Cindy, Prompto's other close friend was Noctis, a Light Talent who had arrived a couple seasons after he had. He always appeared interested in Prompto's latest project, and would sometimes tweak sun rays to give him the perfect lighting for a painting. He laughed at Prompto's jokes, let him paint his sleeping form when he took naps in the afternoon sun, and went with him to watch the baby birds learning to fly.

               One day, they were watching a baby yellow bird hover over its nest, looking over the edge of the tree branch anxiously. The poor little fellow had gotten as far as an inch away from the tree before scurrying back in fright.

               Between their quiet cheers of encouragement (having been shushed by the Animal Talent helping the bird more than once) and leaning on the edge of their seats to see if _this_ was going to be the time the little bird would fly farther, Noctis struck up a whispered conversation. "So, I have a favor to ask…"

               A favor? From _him_? "Sure! Anything!" When the Animal Talent turned to glare at him, he realized his voice had been louder than he intended. He shrunk back onto the rock he and Noctis were sitting on.

               "Specs is never in his home for too long. He's always working these weird hours, so he never bothered to decorate it that much. But sometimes, we go over to his place to hang out, and I can tell it really bugs him that his place is so bare. I think it's because I've been here a season and I've already decorated mine a lot."

               Specs was Noct's nickname for Ignis, a Dust Talent sparrowman. It was because of the glasses Cindy had made for him when he complained he couldn't see the tiniest dust speck in his measurements. Prompto thought it was silly  ̶  he seemed to be able to see just fine otherwise, and surely _one speck_ wasn't going to matter that much in the grand scheme of things  ̶ but Noctis said it made him look distinguished. Then again, Noct thought _everything_ about Ignis looked good.

               "I was thinking… Do you think you could paint him a picture for his wall? Like, of the Pixie Dust Tree or something? Something he likes," Noctis suggested, running a hand through his unruly black hair. "I know it would mean a lot to him."

               There was never an art project that Prompto would turn down, and he'd do anything to make his friends happy. "Of course! Ignis is kinda picky, so I'll have to make it the best painting yet! I'm thinking a sunrise in the background, since that's when he's already up and flying. Ooh! Maybe the night sky, with a giant moon!"

               "He likes the stars," Noctis offered. He seemed sheepish for a reason Prompto couldn't place.

               "I'll get started on it right away!" Prompto promised. "You'll have to give me feedback on it. You know Iggy better than anyone."

               "I'll come by whenever you're ready."

 

 

 

 

 

               Late that night when he'd usually be splattering paint over canvas and, unintentionally, his furniture, Prompto sought out the best angle of the Pixie Dust Tree. He found a pretty view from the Winter Woods, but the cold was too much for his wings, and he didn't want to waste time finding a long-sleeved shirt in his closet. He didn't think he even _had_ one.

               He hauled his canvas and paints to the Autumn Forest, finding a comfy spot on Maple Tree Hill. The orange leaves framed the yellow lights from the tree in a striking complement of color. Unfortunately, skunk training had just ended, and the clip on Sania's nose as she led the animals away told him it was better to be safe than sorry when it came to distance.

               Finally, he ended up in Summer Glade, determined to find the best (and least-smelliest) viewing spot for the Pixie Dust Tree. He was pretty sure the painting _had_ to be of the Pixie Dust Tree, because as far as Prompto knew, Ignis loved nothing more than his job. He worked hard not only out of his value for duty and responsibility, but because he genuinely loved working with pixie dust. Prompto could relate to that devotion, even though he'd never be able to relate to Ignis' love of math equations or whatever else he used measuring pixie dust in his spare time.

               Sunflower Gully didn't have the altitude for an overlooking angle for the tree. Prompto could have hovered in mid-air to paint, but he didn't have the stamina nor pixie dust to accomplish more than a rough sketch. He wanted this painting to be _perfect_ , after all, and it was better to have an accurate idea of the lighting while he painted. Besides, he could probably make a vantage point from below work. He could see the shadows of fairies dining at the Tearoom through the tall windows at the root of the tree; it could make a great study on the daily life of  Pixie Hollow. Ignis liked tea, didn't he? Prompto had seen him munching on those tarts the Baking Talents served, too, so he must like the Tearoom a lot. Any place serving tarts was worth framing a picture of in one's room, or so he thought.

               Speak of the sparrowman, Ignis was sitting right by the edge of the river! He wasn't looking at the Pixie Dust Tree, though. He was smiling up the night sky.

               "Heya, Iggy!" Prompto greeted, floating over to his side. "Whatcha lookin' at?"

               "Fly with you, Prompto," Ignis said in his impeccably formal voice. He always talked like he was speaking with King Ree, even when he was just talking to a firefly. "I'm admiring the stars. It's become a hobby of sorts for Noct and I this past season."

               "They _are_ really pretty," the Art Talent agreed, settling down in the grass beside his friend. Prompto enjoyed painting the night sky from time to time, especially the Second Star. He'd always wanted to fly to the Mainland with the other fairies and see what it looked like from that point of view. "They're kinda mysterious, too, aren't they? Like, haven't you ever wondered what the sky looks like from the Mainland?"

               "I imagine it'd look about the same," Ignis said. "Their constellations are different, so I hear, but the same formula of stars and sky apply."

               "Yeah, but it'd be _different_ ," Prompto protested. "Like, they wouldn't have Gilgamesh the Shield as a constellation, right? Why not?"

               "Because Gilgamesh earned his constellation after defending Pixie Hollow from the dragon two thousand years ago," Ignis explained. He didn't sound half as engaged as Prompto felt, but there was a telling twinkle in his eye. "Our constellations are made up of Neverland's heroes. The Mainland, presumably, has different historical figures and mythology that form in their atmosphere. There may not be any fairies in their lore; more likely, there are humans or animals depicted by the stars' arrangement."

               "Wouldn't you want to see them?' Prompto asked.

               "Of course," Ignis admitted, "but Dust Talents don't visit the Mainland."

               "Why not? Why can't all talents go to the Mainland?"

               "We're not needed there. Mainland talents change the seasons. Our talents are suited for Pixie Hollow," Ignis said.

               "We should still be able to go," Prompto said, pouting. "It's so not fair."

               "I doubt you're missing much," his friend consoled him. "Most of the nature there is identical to Neverland's, and fairies rarely spend too much time sightseeing in human villages. In fact, I've heard that they're noisy, dirty, and dangerous. Grown clumsies can't see us, so our kind is in danger of being trampled by self-driving carriages or human feet. Not to mention that's where the pirates sail in from, and they're nothing but rude and uncivilized. If they're any indication of the Mainland is like, I'd rather stay here, thank you very much."

               But Prompto wasn't swayed. "I think you're missing the point, Iggy: self-driving carriages! Imagine what our Tinker Talents could come up with if they went and saw how the humans did it! And think of all the art produced there! Noct said he saw a human catch a moment of time in a little box, like a mirror but permanent! It was an insta-painting! We wouldn't even need paintbrushes!"

               "I like your paintings," Ignis said softly, brows furrowing behind his glasses. "They're special because you work so hard on them."

               "Yeah, but they take time! I could spend that time doing so much more. You understand, right, Iggy?"

               Ignis appraised him for a long moment with a thoughtful stare. "I understand that you were given this talent for a reason, Prompto. You're right where you need to be."

               Ignis couldn't understand, Prompto thought to himself. _His_ talent was vital to Pixie Hollow: his pixie dust helped change the seasons and sustain life on Neverland. What good could his paintings really do?

 

 

 

 

 

               What good _could_ they do? What good could painting picture accomplish for Pixie Hollow? Prompto had told Ignis that Mainland inventions would make painting so much faster. Actually, they made painting downright unnecessary. Why should he hone his skill for replicating images he saw, when he should be trying to find another way to truly benefit Pixie Hollow and the fairies that lived in it?

               There were so many amazing inventions in the Mainland, according to his friends that visited. Noct had rambled on about a shiny self-driving carriage that roared like a bear and raced faster than a Fast Flying Talent. Iris, a Garden Talent fairy, told him about large lamps that didn't have to be lit with flame, about buildings that touched clouds and sparkled like swarms of fireflies. Luna the Light Talent said she saw a human talk into a little flat box, and another voice answered from inside it. At first, she had worried some sort of Mainland fairy was trapped inside it, but Libertus the Water Talent swore it was another human's voice from far away. They wouldn't need to send messages across the island by fairy if they could make that technology themselves! Prompto wondered why the season-changing fairies didn't bring samples of Mainland tools back to Neverland with them, or at least rough sketches of them.

               Wait! They didn't draw sketches of them because they weren't Art Talents. Prompto was an Art Talent! He was good at painting pictures of things. If he went to the Mainland, he could draw pictures of human machines that Tinker Talents could build themselves, or at least use the sketches to recreate them as well as they could with the materials they had available.

               He thought of Cindy building her boat, how she had struggled finding a "stretchy-thingy" for the rudder. He thought of how big her smile would be if he brought back a picture of a Mainland boat, a detailing of what they used for their rudders that would spark one of her brilliant solutions to the problem. He felt a renewed vigor in the flapping of his wings: if he could do this, he'd finally be giving back to his home.

 


End file.
